The GENES Blog (GEnealogy News and EventS): Top stories concerning ancestral research in Britain, Ireland, and their diasporas, from Irish born Scottish based professional family historian, author and tutor Chris Paton. Feel free to quote from this blog, but please credit The GENES Blog if you do so. To contact me please email chrismpaton @ outlook.com.

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Friday, 29 January 2016

The National Archives in England (www.nationalarchives.gov.uk) is removing its current document ordering service provision from its website on Monday 1st February, and replacing it on Tuesday 2nd with a new service integrated into its online hosted Discovery catalogue. New service fees will apply, as well as new service provisions, including a new page check fee of £8.24 prior to any order, although digital and paper copies are being reduced in price to compensate.

Surviving the City: Lunchtime Lecture Series throughout February and March 2016

Thursday 4 February – The Belfast Workhouse in the nineteenth century by Dr Olwen Purdue
Thursday 18 February – The Great Famine in Belfast by Professor Peter Gray
Thursday 25 February – The Belfast Corporation and Council archive in PRONI by Ian Montgomery
Thursday 3 March – Voluntary charities for the poor in Belfast, 1800 - 1838 by Robyn Atcheson
Wednesday 16 March – Sailor Town, Belfast
by Dr Elizabeth Thomas
Tuesday 22 March – Belfast Corporation and the management of public health, 1880-1914 by Stuart Irwin

All lectures will be held in PRONI and will commence at 1pm.

Wikimedia Edithon
4th February 2016 from 2.30pm to 5.30pm

This comprises of a number of talks on the Somme and Ireland 1916 as well as a workshop to show how to edit and upload information to Wikipedia articles.

Women’s work through the years - Afternoon Tea and Archive Exploration
Monday 7th March, 2pm - You are invited to join HMS Caroline, PRONI and The Northern Ireland War Memorial for a relaxed afternoon tea and the opportunity to explore the role of the Wrens, HMS Caroline and the women of Belfast during WWs 1 and 2 through objects, costumes, archives, photographs and film. Find out more about the exciting plans for the restoration of HMS Caroline and the opening of this historic ship as a museum and visitor attraction in Belfast in June 2016.

This is a free event aimed at women and women’s community groups as part of International Women’s Day. Places are very limited booking is essential.

Book Launch
We are pleased to host the Launch of Trevor Parkhill’s new book ‘The Nurse in the Belfast Blitz, Emma Duffin’ on the 3rd May 2016 at 1pm.

Evening Presentation
Thursday 26th May, 6.30pm – Evening Presentation on the archaeology of the Battle of Jutland by Innes McCartney – Nautical archaeologist, historian, explorer and broadcaster. In conjunction with History Hub, the Royal Navy and Belfast City Council

Temperance Conference
23 June 2016 - Half day conference on the theme of temperance and alcohol starting at 1.30pm.

WFA 2016 Programme. - The second Thursday of the month the WFA meet in PRONI please see website for their full programme.

Your Family Tree magazine (http://yourfamilytreemag.co.uk), one of the three key monthly genealogy magazines available on the British market is about to be rebranded as Your Family History from the next edition.

The overseas edition of YFT has always been known as Your Family History, for various reasons to do with copyright when it was first launched overseas (Canada, Australia, etc). Under the new management the decision has now been taken to brand all editions around the world under the one title, Your Family History.

Previously there was another magazine called Your Family History in the UK, edited by Laura Berry and Nick Barratt, but it ceased publication a couple of years ago - so it is not a relaunch of that title! It literally is just Your Family Tree with a name change, so the same magazine, with the same layout and design, and the same range of useful features.

The latest issue (Feb 2016) features a range or articles, including one from yours truly on how to locate Overseas British BMDs. Other articles look at film archives, research in Swansea, the battle of Verdun, canal workers, and more. For more information visit http://yourfamilytreemag.co.uk/latest-issue/.

Karen Bali's latest genealogy guide book, published by Family History Partnership (www.thefamilyhistorypartnership.com), is entitled Researching Adoption: An essential guide to tracing birth relatives and ancestors. At 48 pages, and just £4.95 (plus p&p), the book is a useful and well illustrated ready reckoner for those of you seeking to research adoption as carried out in England and Wales.

The books has five key chapters - an Introduction, exploring what adoption actually entails, and whether your family has been historically affected by 'adoption in' or 'adoption out'; a History of Adoption, both before legalised adoption took place in England and Wales, and after (legalised adoption was in place from January 1927); Adoption in Your Ancestry, looking at case studies of historical adoption; Records and Resources for adoption research, the key part of the book, examining the Adoption Children's Register, poor law union records, charity records, the Child Migration Trust, and more; and If you were adopted, a guide for those seeking to trace their biological heritage back if adopted. A final Contacts, Resources and Further Reading section provides some useful addresses and numbers to help you on your way.

Although predominantly looking at English adoption, much of the book may well provide some useful options for Scottish research also, with the contacts section including details of the NRS Adoption Unit in Edinburgh.

A short, concise, but packed book of information, this is well worth adding to the family history library.

Thursday, 28 January 2016

My Heritage (www.myheritage.com) has added a free to access search screen for the 1901 and 1911 Irish census. As with Ancestry's similar third party search tool for the same censuses, the screen allows you to search for a person using an additional name in the house (via its Advanced Search mechanism), and then redirects you to the National Archives of Ireland page for the actual image of each entry.

My Heritage (www.myheritage.com) has released a blog post providing an interesting behind the scenes glimpse of the company's operation at its offices in Or Yehuda, Israel, where it employs some 260 people. The blog post is essentially a photograph collection with some commentary, but does give a sense of scale to the company, which also has offices Tel Aviv, and in the US.

The HLA layer has been deliberately coloured to closely match the six main categories of the 1930s Land Utilisation Survey and shows striking changes in Scotland's land use during the 20th century, including afforestation and expanding urban areas. At the local level, you can see new reservoirs, roads, and significant changes to patterns of farming.

Screen website has re-launched with improved capabilities. This educational website, built in partnership with Education Scotland and Creative Scotland, can now be viewed on all platforms including tablets and smartphones.

Containing hundreds of free-to-watch short films and clips from our Moving Image Archive, the website also has guidance on how to use archive film in school projects and lessons.

The Ulster Historical Foundation has added some 51,000 Roman catholic baptisms, marriages and burials entries entries only to its databases at www.ancestryireland.com, with significant coverage up to 1929/1930. The following churches and collections are included (with number of records added in brackets):

Holy Cross, Belfast, Baptisms, 1918-1929 (1632)

Holy Family, Belfast, Baptisms, 1895-1929 (2188)

St Malachy’s, Belfast, Baptisms, 1913-1923 (2287)

St Matthew’s, Belfast, Baptisms, 1899-1929 (10,024)

Dundrum & Ballykinler, Co. Down, Baptisms, 1894-1920 (627)

Dundrum & Tyrella, Co. Down, Baptisms, 1921-1930 (274)

Holy Cross, Belfast, Marriages, 1908-1929 (716)

Holy Family, Belfast, Marriages, 1895-1929 (684)

Sacred Heart, Belfast, Marriages, 1890-1929 (846)

St Joseph’s, Belfast, Marriages, 1872-1930 (1632)

St Malachy’s, Belfast, 1883-1929 (3014)

St Vincent de Paul, Belfast, Marriages, 1896-1929 (399)

Dundrum & Ballykinler, Co. Down, Marriages, 1894-1920 (151)

Dundrum & Tyrella, Co. Down, Marriages, 1921-1929 (52)

Milltown Cemetery, Belfast, Burials, 1869-1895 (27,232)

From the UHF:

The majority of these records relate to baptisms and marriages in Roman Catholic churches in Belfast from 1900 to 1930 which are not available online elsewhere. We have also added over 27,000 burial records from Milltown, the main Catholic cemetery in Belfast. These burial records include the name, age and address of the deceased and cover just the first volume of burial registers from 1869 when the Cemetery opened, to 1895.

Please note that Guild members can access these burial records for free through the members’ databases.

Catholic baptismal records can be very informative as often details of the individual’s later marriage – the date, place and name of spouse – were recorded alongside the baptismal entry. Places of marriage recorded in the St Malachy’s baptismal register include: Brisbane, Australia; Cairo, Egypt; London, England; New Jersey, USA and Ottawa, Canada. Other later notes included details of ordinations. Priests also often made notes if a parent was deceased, not a Catholic or from outside the parish, for example: ‘Mother a native of Falcarragh, Co. Donegal’. These additional details can be of huge importance in searching for ancestors, for example, within the baptismal register of Dundrum and Ballykinler in County Down the priest noted the following information on two baptisms:

‘Father is a Protestant living at 40 Garwood St Belfast; baptised conditionally in Ballykinlar chapel having previously been baptised in a Protestant church in Belfast.’

‘Father Presbyterian. Child received into Catholic Church at about 7 years old; both parents deceased, mother Catherine married a second time a Protestant named Nelson.’

Marriage records vary in detail. For example the priest at St Joseph’s Church recorded the names and address of both parents of the bride and groom as well as the names and addresses of the witnesses from 1873; St Vincent de Paul registers include this level of detail from 1913. Civil marriage registers never record the names of the mothers or the addresses of the parents and witnesses so these are invaluable details unavailable elsewhere. In particular if the bride or groom had moved to Belfast but were not born there, it can often be very challenging to discover their original place of birth but marriage registers that include the parents’ address can suggest a potential area to research.

It should be noted that the addresses of the bride and groom referred to their address on the day of marriage, which was not always their usual residence. Often one spouse stayed somewhere other than their usual residence on the night before the wedding, to be close to the church. This is demonstrated in one register where the couple gave their address as Carrick Hill in Belfast but the priest noted ‘One night in Carrick Hill, immediately from Newry’. Often witnesses were found to be siblings of the bride or groom; knowing the addresses of the witnesses at the time of the marriage can help confirm these relationships.

There are examples of additional notes written by some priests in cases where the parents of the bride and groom were not Catholic, were deceased or were living elsewhere: ‘Father of bridegroom in America’. Other details recorded included whether the bride or groom were converts or had any sort of blood relationship, which required a dispensation from the Church. This was something to which priests in certain parishes seemed to pay particular attention. Other pieces of information, not always available elsewhere may have been recorded, for example, a priest recorded that the groom had been ‘shot in Boer War’. Finally, many priests made a note to say which parishes they had notified about the marriage which can also suggest a possible place of birth, for example: ‘Notice sent to Barrow-in-Furness; notice sent to Lisburn’.

We hope you will enjoy poring over the Foundation’s latest release of Catholic parish registers.

It is a perfect opportunity to take advantage of our current half-price sale and search the new records.

Wednesday, 27 January 2016

The British Newspaper Archive (www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk), which is planning to digitise forty million pages of content from the holdings of the British Library Newspaper Archive, now based at Boston Spa, Yorkshire, is almost one third of the way through the project, having passed the thirteen million pages mark.

On Friday 29 April we will be holding a specialist family history evening masterclass with highly-acclaimed writer and critic Alison Light, who will discuss her own encounter with writing family history and offer practical approaches for creative non-fiction writing.

A quick plug for something that may be of interest for those with roots from the north of Ireland/Northern Ireland. About twenty years ago I bought a language course that teaches folk how to speak in Ulster Irish, the dialect of Irish Gaelic spoken today still predominantly in Donegal, and until recently, in other parts of the north, such as in the Glens of Antrim etc. Ulster Irish is a dialect of the language spoken on the island, but also has a lot in common with Scottish Gaelic - the two Gaelic dialects/languages are very closely related indeed.

The course is called Now You're Talking, with a structure based on the Welsh series of the same name, and the Scottish Gaelic series Speaking Our Language, both of which had accompanying TV series (Speaking Our Language went on for years, and by a bizarre coincidence, I later worked for the main presenter of that series for three years at STV, Rhoda MacDonald!). I discovered a couple of days ago that the Ulster based version of the Now You're Talking TV series, co-produced by BBC Northern Ireland and RTE, is now available on YouTube. Here's the first episode (marvel at the dated music and graphics!), presented by Deirbhile Ní Churraighín (https://youtu.be/7nz--LpYC30):

NB: Editions of Speaking Our Language and the Welsh based Now You're Talking are also available on YouTube. The series programmes can be watched at leisure, as they are not grammar heavy, they merely present certain basic everyday conversation situations and useful phrases. Each programme, set in a different location in the north of Ireland, also has interesting features such as placename discussions, local history and more.

To purchase the book accompanying the Irish series, visit Amazon or other online book retailers.

Ancestry has added a new collection, entitled UK, Shipping and Seamen WWI and WWII Rolls of Honour, 1914-1945. From the site:About UK, Shipping and Seamen WWI and WWII Rolls of Honour, 1914-1945

This Roll of Honour lists the deceased and missing presumed dead from the ranks of the merchant marine fleets during World War I (1914-1918) and World War II (1939-1945). Each of the eight volumes in this collection is organized in alphabetical order and includes details such as name of seaman, rank or rating, vessel name, and date of death or supposed death. In some volumes, details such as parents' or spouse's names and places of residence may be included as well.

The original source is from the Registry of Shipping and Seamen: Rolls of Honour, Wars of 1914-1918 and 1939-1945, National Archives (Kew) reference BT 339/1-8

I have not had a chance to blog in the last week, so for anyone wondering, I've just had a few things come together that have caused a 'perfect storm' of blog prevention! In addition to working flat out to finish off my second book in three months for Unlock the Past (more on those soon!), I have also had a really bad case of manflu/bad cold/bubonic evil that has had me knocked for six over the last few days (all sympathy welcome) - and to top it all off, I have also had to change internet supplier in amongst all of that, with some fairly horrendous issues to deal with from my previous supplier, TalkTalk, who I will not be going near again with a six foot barge pole.

Wednesday, 20 January 2016

1558
Common Pleas
Pleas at Westminster Michaelmas term, 5 & 6 Philip & Mary and 1 Elizabeth, 1558. The court dealt with civil cases: debt, detinue, slander, assault, theft, breach of covenant, formedon, novel disseisin, &c. Each case is marked in the margin with the name of the county to the sheriff of which the writs were issued. Most often, but not necessarily, this would be the county of residence of the defendant. This calendar of the original formulaic record in abbreviated Latin on parchment has been made by David Bethell, preserving all individual detail from each case. The Latin text is translated: English phrases and passages are preserved literatim, in bold.

1558
Fines
Fines for fictitious a_ctions of covenant in the Common Pleas were a way of registering the transfer of landed property. The originals, entered on the Common Roll for Michaelmas term, 5 & 6 Philip & Mary and 1 Elizabeth, 1558 are here abstracted into English by David Bethell: the grantee is in each case the person named in the third line, covenanting with the grantor(s). The description of the estate names the number of messuages (houses), acres of (arable) land, pasture, meadow, &c. CP 40/1176 mm.1-100

1767
London Merchants
The Universal Pocket Companion of 1767 contained, among 'many other necessary and entertaining particulars' this directory of London merchants.

FindmyPast (www.findmypast.co.uk) has announced that it is freezing subscription rates for current subscribers to the service when they next renew. However, new subscribers will be paying an increased subscription rate of 20% on top of the current prices from Feb 16th.

Here's the announcement I've received for current subscribers to the American site, to which I am subscribed:

...we're freezing the price of your next renewal subscription price. As a valued subscriber, when your current 12 Month World subscription renews you will pay just $179.55 - that's the regular annual price of $199.50, plus a 10% loyalty discount. This is a saving of over $59 a year against our new subscription price of $239.50. It's our little way of saying thank you for your continued support.

It should be interesting when I renew again, as I have actually been on a Pioneer subscription since the US site started up, which costs about a third of that!

Here's more on the price increase for new subscribers, which I have just received in an email from the company:

...there is more good news for our subscribers. We are freezing the price of their next renewal on our 12 month subscription packages as we increase the price of new subscriptions by 20% on February 16th. In the past year alone, almost half a billion records have been added to the site and we plan to add the same number again this year to ensure value for our subscribers. We have also opened a further 2.5 million closed 1939 Register records and continue to open thousands more every week.

This is interesting. I think it's fair to say that FindmyPast (www.findmypast.co.uk) has had something of a rough ride with its recent launch of the 1939 National identity Register for England and Wales, a Second World War census substitute (there was no 1941 census due to the war). A lot of regular users were furious that it was not part of a regular subscription when launched and that so much of it was redacted, including records that were previously accessible from the NHSIC which previously held it, something I have experienced myself.

Well now FindmyPast is planning to add it to its regular subscriptions:

We're pleased to let you know that as a valued member of Findmypast from the 16th February 2016, we're giving you unlimited access to our premium record set, the 1939 Register. This is only available at Findmypast, so you'll soon be able to discover names, addresses and occupations of your family in England and Wales on the eve of the Second World War.

This weekend we are making billions of world records FREE to explore. From 07:00am (EST) on Friday 22nd to 07:00am (EST) on Monday 25th January 2016 dive into the newspaper archive, birth, marriage and death records, crime collections, and so much more.

This looks like it will be on all worldwide FindmyPast platforms, certainly confirmed for the US and UK sites.

UPDATE:Terms & conditions: Free access lasts from 12:00pm (GMT) on Friday 22nd January 2016 until 11:59am (GMT) on Monday 25th January 2016. To access the records you will need to be signed in at Findmypast: you can register for free using your name, email address and country of residence. The free access excludes the 1939 Register, UK Electoral Registers (2002-2013) and the UK Companies House Directors (2002-2013) record sets. Free access is subject to our fair usage policy: each account may view up to a maximum of 1,000 records per day.

Also:

It’s not only new users who’ll enjoy special family history research opportunities this weekend. Those with current Findmypast Local subscriptions (with an active Britain, Ireland, US & Canada or Australia & New Zealand subscription) will be able to access Findmypast’s historical World records during the free access weekend, and those with active World subscriptions will have an additional three days added to their subscription.

Manchester and Lancashire Family History Society (www.mlfhs.org.uk) is hosting a day long Irish themed family history course by the Ulster Historical Foundation (www.ancestryireland.com), entitled Exploring Your Irish Roots, at Manchester Central Library on Fenbruary 6th 2016, from 9.30am-4.30pm.

Monday, 18 January 2016

Levels 1 and 2 of the University of Glasgow's main library are currently being refitted. The university has placed the first images of the work on its blog. From the post:

Work has now begun on the refit of levels 1 and 2 of the University Library. The contractors are currently laying screed to level out the floor on level 1... Ultimately this level will house over 100 new study spaces.Work has also begun on level 2, where there will be a new Library Services area, self-service facilities, an exhibition space, and a range of flexible furniture to encourage collaborative working and where we can deliver information sessions throughout the year.

As a subscriber to the US version of FindmyPast (www.findmypast.com), I've just received the following message:

We wanted to let you know that in the coming months Mocavo will be coming together with its sister site, Findmypast. This will create a single experience for our US customers in a move that aims to deliver a more focused, efficient and comprehensive service to US family historians.Mocavo's StoryWe launched back in March 2011 when, only three months old, Family Tree Magazine named us as one of the best 101 genealogy websites of 2011. In 2012 we released The Free Yearbook collection and since then we’ve continued to publish hundreds of records and archives every day. We’d like to thank you, our customers, for being there with us as we’ve continued to grow.We are now in the process of moving all Mocavo site content to Findmypast so you’ll soon be able to enjoy everything currently available on Mocavo and more. As part of our 'Free Forever' promise, Mocavo subscribers will continue to enjoy free access to all of the same records that were previously published for free on Mocavo. We will be transferring your account over to Findmypast soon so stay tuned for updates.What's next?You don't need to do anything just now. When we bring the two sites together, we'll be in touch with specific information about your account and some how-to guides that will help make the most of the new experience.How does this move affect you?You'll still benefit from the same great content you’ve been enjoying on Mocavo and this will all be available on Findmypast soon. In addition, you'll be able to take advantage of hundreds of millions of new and exclusive US records to further enhance the experience for US family historians.Findmypast has more British and Irish records than anyone else and is adding new records from the US and other locales every single week, so you’ll be able to take advantage of these to help your family history search. You’ll be able to explore nearly 8 billion names now and hundreds of millions of new names coming this year alone!You can easily import your family tree and we’ll start to hint against names that we find in the archives to help you discover more about your family and even find relatives you never knew existed.About FindmypastCurrently the home to billions of names, including the largest collections of Irish records and British Parish records, military records and the British Newspaper Archive, not to mention the 1939 Register. It currently has a plethora of US records and will soon be home to all the Mocavo records once the two sites come together.Findmypast has a free and easy-to-use family tree builder and it releases new records every week to keep your family history search alive.

COMMENT: There's no word yet from the UK end, but as all the FindmyPast sites are essentially the same thing now, with different regional accents, this looks like it will be a development across the whole platform, with Mocavo's records being added to the FindmyPast platform. Mocavo was acquired by FindmyPast in June 2014.

Saturday, 16 January 2016

If you have just got the family history bug after the Christmas period, the UK wing of Ancestry (www.ancestry.co.uk) has an offer that might be of interest:

New year, new discoveries - Save on a Premium monthly membership

What better time to start your family history journey than the beginning of a new year? Sign up for a Premium monthly membership and get your first 4 months for only £20. That's only £5 a month! If an annual membership seemed like too much, try this offer without the long-term commitment.

*Offer based on purchase of a monthly Premium membership at the special offer price of £5 per month for the first 4 months of membership. Offer available until 24 January 2016 at 23:59 GMT. Offer not valid for members with current subscriptions. Your membership will automatically renew at the end of each month. After the end of the four month special offer period you will be charged £13.99 each month, unless you are notified otherwise. If you don't want to renew, cancel at least two days before your renewal date. Cancel by visiting the My Account section or by calling 0800 404 9723. See our Terms and Conditions for further details.

Friday, 15 January 2016

The Sheriff Court in Inverness, located at Inverness Castle, is intending to relocate to a new site in the city once a location and funding has been secured. As such, Highland Council is keen to use the castle as a hub for cultural activities at the heart of the town.

Inverness castle (Wikimedia Commons)

There are several ideas on what can be done with the building, but an exciting option is to relocate the family history service and registrar's service from the current Highland Archive building and install it there, similar to the set up at centres such as the Burns Monument Centre in Kilmarnock, Ayrshire. Personally, I'd be delighted to see this - but then I'm possibly a little biased as my grandfather and great grandparents used to live at View Place, next door to the building!

England, Pollbooks and Directories, 1830-1837
Search through over 62,000 records to discover who your ancestor voted for in the election of 1830. This valuable census substitute can also include details of their occupation, residence, religious beliefs and even a short biography.

Hertfordshire, Parish Registers Browse, 1538-1988
Our collection of over 1.9 million Hertfordshire parish registers is now available to browse. Page by page, explore records dating back to the 16th century to uncover baptisms, marriages and burials.

Surrey, Southwark, Newington Apprentice Register 1891
Uncover your ancestor's trade, the names of their parents, who they trained under and where in this register of Victorian apprentices from Newington in London.

We are pleased to announce that all our 2 million pay-per-view birth, marriage & death records for Counties Antrim & Down are now half-price on www.ancestryireland.com until 31 January 2016.Our website includes virtually all Roman Catholic registers of baptisms for Counties Antrim and Down prior to 1900, a large number of Church of Ireland and Presbyterian registers of baptisms for Counties Antrim and Down and the city of Belfast as well as many civil birth records for Belfast.We also hold virtually all civil marriage records for County Antrim and County Down, virtually all Roman Catholic registers of marriages for County Antrim and County Down prior to 1900 and a large number of Church of Ireland and Presbyterian registers of marriages for mid, south and west County Down.In addition our website contains funeral records (where they survive) from Roman Catholic registers for Co. Antrim and Co. Down prior to 1900 and a large number of Church of Ireland and Presbyterian registers of burials for the city of Belfast.Visit www.ancestryireland.com to take advantage of this limited time offer, which must end 31 January 2016!

Thursday, 14 January 2016

The National Archives at Kew, England, is hosting an exhibition on site entitled Centenary Stitches. The following is a short description:

From the village of Thimbleby to the Western Front, two brothers and their story are brought to life in community film Tell Them of Us - a tribute to their duty and the impact on those they left behind.This display of clothing from the film tells the story of how an international army of knitters was created almost by accident, not only to help costume the film, but also to reveal the extraordinary range of knitted items produced back home for men in the trenches.Centenary Stitches will be displayed on-site at Kew.

* A suspect in the Whitechapel Murders and infamous Sheffield murderer Charles Peace appear in the records

* Entries reveal child murders committed by desperate single mothers who were ostracised from society

More than 100,000 records and images from Police Gazettes, revealing details of wanted suspected criminals, offenders in custody and missing persons have been published online by Ancestry, the world’s largest family history resource.

The UK, Police Gazettes, 1812-1902, 1921-1927 collection, sourced from Luminary Trading Limited and Lastchancetoread, contains copies of the “Police Gazette”, or “Hue and Cry”. The publication was used for communication between members of the police force across the United Kingdom – much like the National Crime Agency’s most wanted list today.

Searchable by name, age, type, date and location of crime, these records contain vital information and fascinating detail for anybody looking to find out more about either an historic offender or indeed a victim of crime in their family tree. The records can even give a glimpse at the faces of wanted suspected criminals through police sketches issued alongside requests from information.

Several interesting characters feature in the records, including:

* Charles Peace – Maimed in an industrial incident as a child, murderer Peace appears in the records in 1876 in an appeal for information about his location on several occasions. He’s described as ‘thin and slightly built’, with ‘grey (nearly white) hair, beard and long whiskers’. The record goes on to give details of his trade – a picture-frame maker, with a history of burglary. He murdered a policeman and a neighbour, but managed to stay on the run until he was arrested for burglary in London, and eventually faced the death penalty

* Michael Ostrog – Ostrog, one of the suspects in the Whitechapel Murders that made Jack the Ripper famous, was charged with larceny, but failed to report after he was released from Surrey County Lunatic Asylum in 1888. The record lists several of his aliases: Bertrand Ashley, Claude Clayton and Dr. Grant, and describes him as ‘’a dangerous man’, who had moles on his shoulder and neck, as well as ‘corporal punishment marks’. An accompanying sketch of a bearded Ostrog is an example the police tried to identify criminals on the run.

Ostrog was not the only man in the Police Gazettes to use aliases, with one in ten (9%) of all entries featuring a pseudonym, perhaps unsurprising given that most criminals attempt to shield their identity from the authorities.

The records also include a number of reports featuring murdered new-born babies, which illustrates the issues attached to illegitimate children in the 19th Century. The Bastardy Clause in the New Poor Law of 1834 made all illegitimate children solely the responsibility of their mother until the age of 16, which left mothers, often estranged from their families, with limited choices. In desperation, many mothers resorted to infanticide to protect themselves. Many of the mothers were never identified, with the police often seeking more information on the crime. Some examples from the records include:

* ‘Ann Yates’ – Murdered her daughter and threw the body into a well in Midsomer Norton, Somerset, in 1875 after being forced to live in the Shepton-Mallet Union Workhouse when she was unable to provide for her illegitimate offspring. The police believed the ‘good-looking’ 24-year old had fled to Cardiff to start a new life

* ‘Two women’ – In 1894, the body of a newly-born male child was found in the Leeds and Liverpool Canal at Hoghton, tied up in a white coarse apron. The police sought two women who were observed on the canal bank in Blackburn when a splash was heard, ‘caused by one of the women throwing something into the water’. The younger woman, who ‘appeared to be ill’, was leaning on the arm of an older woman who was ‘tall and stout’

Ancestry’s Senior Content Manager Miriam Silverman comments: “This collection provides rare insight into crime and punishment in the 19th Century as well as helping us to better understand how the British police force worked shortly after it was introduced.”

“Whether you’re locating the black sheep in your family tree, discovering more about an ancestor who was the victim of crime or even unearthing some infamous criminals, these records can help reveal the details.”

To search the UK, Police Gazettes, 1812-1902, 1921-1927 collection for free, and more than 16 billion other historical records worldwide, visit www.ancestry.co.uk.

(With thanks to Bryony Partridge)

COMMENT: Please note that this is not a complete collection. The years available are as follows:

I have just carried out a spot check and have discovered that it does now seem to be back up and running. There is a pop up about various new features, but as I am not a regular user I cannot tell if these are new - there seems to be nothing in its news, blog or twitter feeds.

Nevertheless, it is now back up and running by the looks of it - including free access to the overseas British BMD indexes, for records held at the GRO in Souhport, England.

On 19 November 2015 I wrote to you to tell you about our move to new offices in the Corn Exchange building in central Belfast and to ask for your support. I would like to provide you with a quick update.

We had previously indicated that our target amount was £30,000, towards which we had already secured £15,000 in pledges from a number of third parties with the requirement that we raise an additional £15,000 in match funding.

I am very pleased to tell you that we are now over two-thirds of the way towards our match funding goal. To date we have received some £10,300 in Buy-a-Brick donations, leaving only £4,700 to reach our target. And we are confident that with your support we can make it.

I am also pleased to advise that work has now started to transform this space into the Foundation’s new home, and we expect the renovations to be completed relatively soon. You can keep up to date with progress on the redevelopment of the office space at the Buy-a-Brick page on our website, where we will be uploading photographs as the work progresses:

We would like to thank everyone who has already contributed to our appeal – your generosity is greatly appreciated, and would like to ask that if you have not yet contributed, and can do so, that you would consider making a donation.

Whilst the ‘bricks’ in our appeal are nominally £25.00 each (approx. $38 or €36) any contribution – large or small – will be gratefully received.

Tuesday, 12 January 2016

We are very excited to announce that the workshop timetable for Who Do You Think You Are? Live 2016 has been released! This year's programme has something for everybody, whether you are just starting out on your family history research journey or if you are an expert genealogist.Amongst many; Mark Bayley will help you break down the brick walls to solve your family history conundrums and Mike Sharpe, Fiona Fitzsimons and Michael Tobias will all be there to help you research ancestors from Birmingham, Ireland and Jewish families in the UK.Make sure you book now so you don't miss out!

Twile wins a place in the Innovator Showdown Semi-Finals at RootsTech 2016

• UK-based tech startup will compete as one of twelve innovators from around the globe to win part of the $100,000 in total prizes.
• First UK startup in the competition.
• Twile will showcase their family history timeline tool to over 23,000 visitors at the world’s largest genealogy event.

Doncaster, UK, 10 January, 2016 – Following the launch of their family history timeline in April 2015, Twile have made it through to the semi-finals of the Innovator Showdown at RootsTech, which runs from 3rd-6th February 2016.

RootsTech, hosted by FamilySearch, is a global conference with over 23,000 visitors expected at the event in Utah, USA. The semi-finals will take place during the Innovator Summit, a one-day event that forms a critical component of the RootsTech conference.

Designed for developers and tech entrepreneurs from around the globe to explore opportunities within the family history industry, the summit will see six finalists selected to go through to the Innovator Showdown. Here they will present their cutting-edge applications in the live event on Friday 5th February, to win a share of $100,000 in prizes.

Preparing to take the stage at the Innovator Summit, Twile co-founder Paul Brooks said, “We are absolutely delighted to have been chosen for the semi-finals of the Innovator Showdown. This really is the biggest competition for our industry and we think Twile perfectly matches the criteria - discovering, preserving and sharing family stories across generations. The conference is also a great opportunity for us to meet a lot of the people we’ve been talking to over the last year.”

Twile will also have a booth at the event within ‘Innovation Alley’. If you’re going to be at RootsTech, please come along and see us.

Monday, 11 January 2016

The North Yorkshire Family and Local History Fair, organised by Your Fair Ladies, will be held at Pavilions of Harrogate, Great Yorkshire Showground, Railway Road, Harrogate, North Yorkshire, HG2 8NZ on March 12th, from 10am-4pm. There will be various vendors and societies in attendance, the North Yorkshire County Record Office, North Yorkshire County Library Service, and a programme of talks. Admission is £2.50.

Sunday, 10 January 2016

Just a quick note to say that if anyone has been trying to contact me since the middle of last week, I have not received your email if it was sent to my Tiscali based address, due to another poor level of service provision from parent company TalkTalk, which is seemingly now becoming a regular habit. If you have been trying to get in touch, please use my enquiry @ scotlandsgreateststory.co.uk address (with no gaps), which I have now set to redirect to an Outlook.com address that I am using until TalkTalk can get its act together. Again.

Saturday, 9 January 2016

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (www.cwgc.org) has launched a new blog. The first post is written by the organisation's Director General, Victoria Wallace, and details her personal response to comments about the behaviour of teenage visitors to Tyne Cot Cemetery and Memorial, Belgium.

Friday, 8 January 2016

The Irish Government's official programme for commemorations of the 1916 Easter Rising is outlined on a website at www.ireland.ie, which includes a short 8 minute video outlining some of the highlights. Amongst these are contributions from some well known faces from the National Library of Ireland and the National Archives of Ireland, with announcements of exhibitions and digitisation projects, as well as an ancestry project for school children to try to work out how to trace back to ancestors alive at the period. The video is on YoutTube at https://youtu.be/1RKER4WYl2I and also reproduced here for convenience:

I am currently working hell for leather to produce a short introductory genealogy guide book for Unlock the Past (www.unlockthepast.com.au) on the subject of the Decade of Centenaries from 1912-23, looking at everything from the Ulster Covenant to the Irish Civil War. This will not only examine how to research ancestors connected to the constitutional struggle, but also the First World War, women's suffrage, the Dublin Lockout, and more. One hundred years ago there was no Northern Ireland or Republic of Ireland, it was all a single constituent part of the United Kingdom. It's a period which until now has been tantalisingly close to us in ancestral terms, but rarely talked about. The governments north and south, and others, are to be commended for the programmes being put together this year, whether commemorating the Rising or the Somme, and everything else in between and beyond in the period.

Electoral registers from Plymouth & West Devon, England, 1780-1973
Explore over 74,000 records to locate your ancestor's family home and find out who they voted for with a collection that spans three centuries.

Baptisms from Kent, England
Delve into over 16,000 new additions to our collection of Kent baptismal records covering the parishes of Addington, Ash, Cuxton, Ridley and Offham to uncover your ancestor's birth place and the names of their parents.

Marriages from Kent, England
Over 4,000 records have been added to our Kent marriages. Find out who your ancestors wed, the names of their parents and how they earned a living.

Burials from Kent, England
Discover your relative's final resting place with over 11,000 new additions to Kent burials. Determine their age at death, the date of their burial and uncover notes that may reveal interesting facts about their lives.

The National Archives in Kew, England (www.nationalarchives.gov.uk) has appointed two new executive directors, Dr Valerie Johnson as Director of Research and Collections, and John Sheridan as Digital Director.

Commenting on their appointment, Jeff James, Chief Executive and Keeper, The National Archives said: ‘I am delighted with the permanent appointments of Dr Valerie Johnson and John Sheridan. Their skills and strengths have already shone through during their previous roles, and I look forward to continuing to work with them as we make our way on our strategic journey Archives Inspire.’

Following a review of the files in the Military Service (1916-1923) Pensions Collection the total number of casualties recognised by the Department of Defence, in accordance with the provisions of the Army Pensions Acts 1923, 1927 and 1932 and the Military Service Pensions Acts 1924, 1934 and 1949 is seventy eight (78).

In summary, to be recognised as a casualty one had to be proven to be :

A member of the Forces as set out in legislation: - the Irish Volunteers, Irish Citizen Army, Na Fianna Eireann, the Hibernian Rifles and Cumann na mBan.

Proven to have been on active service

To have been killed or wounded in the course of his duty

Death not due to any serious negligence or misconduct

To have died within three years of having received a wound provided the death was solely due to such wound.

(Incidentally, having been to Kilmainham Gaol last Sunday, where the leaders were executed, I would thoroughly recommend a visit. You might wish to turn up early though to book a tour slot, they were being snapped up fairly quickly when we arrived. I believe admission prices are also going up soon, so best to get in quick! See www.heritageireland.ie/en/kilmainhamgaol).